A typical compound archery bow (as illustrated in prior art FIG. 6) usually includes a riser having opposite ends and a handle therebetween, flexible limbs extending from the ends of the riser and having free ends, and a bowstring coupled to the free ends of the limbs. One type of compound archery bow typically also includes pulleys at the ends of the limbs. The bowstring is typically coupled to the pulleys around an outer circumference thereof, and power cables are typically coupled around other circumferential portions of the pulleys to control bowstring draw characteristics. The typical compound archery bow also usually includes a cable guard or cable guide rod extending rearwardly from a fixed end coupled to the riser to a free end, and a cable slider slidably carried on the rod and adapted to guide the power cables back and forth along the rod as the bow is drawn and released. One-piece sliders (as illustrated in prior art FIG. 7) are known for holding the power cables in fixed positions so as to separated from one another and spaced apart along a longitudinal axis of the rod. More recently, multi-piece sliders are known for restraining the power cables between limits while preventing the power cables from contacting one another as they slide back and forth.
With reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrating typical prior art, a unitary cable slider includes a mounting portion having a throughbore for axially slidable mounting on a cable guide rod, and a cable spacer portion extending laterally from the mounting portion. The cable spacer portion includes a central wall and forward and rearward cable slots on either axial side of the central wall. Each cable slot terminates in a semi-cylindrical end. A lateral distance A between the ends keeps the cables spaced apart in a lateral direction, and an axial distance B between the ends fixedly maintains the cables spaced apart in an axial direction.
Prior art FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 demonstrate that, when the bow is at brace (i.e., not drawn), the cables cross at a centerline of the bow, and that, at full draw of the bow, the cables cross at a location spaced vertically from the bow centerline when the bow is held in a vertical orientation. In other words, the location at which the cables cross moves (e.g., 20-45 mm) over the draw cycle of the bow. By fixing the cables in their spaced apart condition, the cable slider induces the dislocation of the cable crossing away from the bow centerline and, thus, affects the cam timing or synchronization.